This past Monday marked the one year anniversary of my Mom’s passing. She had some very unique sayings such as, “Raise the window down. You have your shirt ront-serd- outers. (wron side out).” Although a simple woman, she loved drama. She always had her ears perked to catch the latest scandal taking place in the family or the nursing home. A minor health issue usually meant her names were numbered. I would assure her that all would be well and her answer more than not would be “I hope so.” But the tone of her voice echoed her real feelings, “I don’t think so.”
These days that is what hope has come to mean for most of us. We hope for a better job but don’t really expect one. We hope for a pay increase but expect not to get one. We hope for a healing but expect to keep living in sickness. We hope for a lot of things but expect life to remain the same. The dictionary describes hope as “the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best” Then the example given to describe the word is “to give up hope.”
Part of the reason we struggle with hope is that we put our hope in the wrong things. Let’s look at two examples to see what I mean. First the rich farmer in Luke 12:16-20.
“Then he told them a story: ‘A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, “What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.” Then he said, “I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, ‘My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!’”
‘But God said to him, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’”
This farmer put his hope in three aspects of his life. First he put his hope in his own abilities. He was a successful farmer because he had fertile land that produced fine crops. His knowledge of what to plant and when would have meant nothing if not for God providing him with fertile ground. Unfruitful soil would have left him barren. Yet we see no recognition of God’s goodness from this man.
We tend to put our hopes in our own abilities. We consider ourselves self-made men. Frederick Douglass, an African-American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman was quoted as saying “Self-made men […] are the men who owe little or nothing to birth, relationship, friendly surroundings; to wealth inherited or to early approved means of education; who are what they are, without the aid of any of the favoring conditions by which other men usually rise in the world and achieve great results.” No where in his speech was any credit given to God.
Our abilities are God given. Each of us has abilities that others do not have. For example, not everyone has the ability to be a public speaker. The thought of speaking before a crowd frightens them to silence. It is only through the power of God that we can overcome our fears and develop abilities to do those things we could not do in the past.
However, God also has the power to take away your abilities. Think of how you earn your income. Could an unfortunate accident strip your abilities to do your job? Could an unforeseen illness cause you to become disabled? What if a drought had hit the farmers land? He would do have been able to accumulate his wealth. This leads us to the second aspect of his life.
Secondly, he put his hope in his wealth. Let’s look back at vs. 17-18. “He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods.’”
His wealth was abundant, so much so his storage facilities could not hold it. His portfolio had grown to the point he needed to reinvest it. Sure he could have helped the poor. Maybe he could have poured some of it into the local synagogue. But it was his wealth and his right to do with it what he wanted.
Again he failed to recognize God’s contribution to his wealth. The farmer said “my crops” and “all my wheat.” We have a tendency to do the same. It’s my checking account, my savings account, or my IRA. We fail to credit God for giving us the ability and abundance to pay our debts and hopefully save for lean years. We depend on the government to secure our finances. If anything, we should be learning that the government has become
undependable in a lot of areas.
God has the capability to allow our economy to collapse. All the hope you have in your wealth will be dashed. Social security is already drying up. There might not be any government assistance after 2024 according to some reports. The hope that your wealth today will somehow see you through your future days may be a foolish hope. And that leads to the third aspect of his life
Verses 19-20 we see he put his hope into his future. “And I’ll sit back and say to myself, ‘My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!’”
‘But God said to him, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’”
He looked at all he had and said “Party time!!! I do not have to work anymore. It’s time for me to kick back and enjoy my stuff.” He never realized he did not have a future. God called him a fool which basically meant he was ignorant. He could not see the future. He had no idea how much time he had left. And neither do we.
We put our hopes in having a future. Every morning we wake up to face another day thinking we have tomorrow. Reality is, there will come a day when there will be no tomorrow for us. We will leave this life one day and all our hopes will be for naught if we have not placed them in the right place.
I had a dear friend who worked with me. He worked until he was seventy to receive full retirement benefits. He looked in his fifties and could work circles around much younger guys. He had been retired for about six months when he set his chair waiting for supper and passed away. We need to be thankful for our health everyday and realize that is indeed God given.
The second person we want to read about is King Asa of Judah who was a wicked king. 2 Chronicles 16:12 “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord’s help but turned only to his physicians. So he died in the forty-first year of his reign.”
We often put our hopes on people. King Asa put his hope in his doctors which is fine. But he neglected to seek God also. There was another king with a similar problem but his approach was different. We find his story in 2 Kings 20:1-7.
“About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: ‘This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’
When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ‘Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.’ Then he broke down and wept bitterly.
But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message came to him from the Lord: ‘Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, “This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.”’ Then Isaiah said, ‘Make an ointment from figs.’ So Hezekiah’s servants spread the ointment over the boil, and Hezekiah recovered!”
Do you see the contrast in the approach of these two kings? King Asa put his hope in a person while King Hezekiah put his hope in God first. When we are afflicted we should seek our hope from God. He is the only one that can truly heal. He may do so through a doctor but make no mistake, He is the healer.
Look to the person beside you and then look at me. If you put all your hope in that person you will be disappointed at some time. We are incapable of assuring you a healthy, wealthy life with a future.
So where do we put our hope? Remember the dictionary describes hope as “the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best” However; the word “hope” in the Bible is not a feeling but an assurance.
The word “hope” is mentioned over 180 times where the word “ discouraged” is mentioned somewhere near 30 times. The Bible is a book of hope, a book of assurance. David mentions it 24 times in the Psalms and paints a picture of where we can put our hope.
First, we put our hope in the Bible’s instructions.
Psalm 119:43 “Do not snatch your word of truth from me,
for your regulations are my only hope.”
The Bible is our instruction manual. It teaches us how live so that we can have the assurance, the hope of God’s presence. It is designed to regulate our lifestyles so that we can lives pleasing to God who gives us our hope.
Psalm 25:12 says that those who fear, who respect God, will have their path shown to them. So if we are stumbling through situations, God’s instructions will show us the way. In fact in Psalm 32:8 God says “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”
The problem is we do not like to follow the instructions in hardly anything. The instruction sheet says read all the way through before beginning to assemble but we just jump in. Often we find ourselves disassembling our project because we misread the instructions. What wonderful assurance we have that God will guide, advise, and watch over us as long as we follow his instructions. We can only have the assurance, the hope by doing so.
Secondly, we put our hope in God’s promises.
Psalm 119:49 “Remember your promise to me; it is my only hope.”
Some young ladies start a hope chest in anticipation of the day they will marry. The Bible is our hope chest filled with promises. 2 Corinthians 1:20 reads “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.” Every promise made to us in the Bibles has been answered.
How many promises are there? I’m not sure. But I can tell you I found 5 times where it says “The Holy Spirit will”, 6 times where it says “Jesus will”, 160 times where it says “God will”, and 256 times where it says “the Lord will.” That’s over 400 promises.
Not all these promises are good. Some are promises of being cast out or even death. But all of God’s promises are true. He is faithful to his word. All we have to do is discover his promises and realize the assurance, the hope that each one holds for us.
Thirdly, we put our hope in God’s word.
Psalm 119:74 “May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy,
for I have put my hope in your word.”
What a joy we have with the assurance, the hope of God’s word. Isaiah 40:8 reads “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.” Jesus stated in John 10:35 that “the scripture cannot be altered.” It says what it means and means what is says.
A story is told about a captain in the U.S. Cavalry many years ago who was riding through a small town in Oklahoma. As he passed by a barn, he suddenly pulled his horse to a stop, because right there before him on the side of the barn were dozens of bull's eye circles drawn with chalk, and in the center of each one was a bullet hole. About that time another man walked by and the captain asked him, "Do you know who is the marksman responsible for all those bull's eyes?" The passer-by nodded his head and said, "Yep, that would be Billy Hawkins. But he's a mite peculiar." The captain replied, "Well I don't care what he is like. The Cavalry can use anyone who can shoot that well.""Ah ha," said the other man, "But I think you should know that Billy shoots first, then he comes over and draws those circles."
We can have the assurance, the hope that God’s word is true and unfading.
So when you are discouraged read Psalm 42:5
“Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God!”
When you have doubts read Psalm 94:19“When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.”
When struggles are hitting you on every side read
Romans 5:3-4 “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope (assurance) of salvation.”
When the future looks gloomy read Jeremiah 29:11 “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”
We have a hope based on the sacrifice of Jesus. We have an assurance of good standing with God. If we will follow his instructions, stand on his promises, and study his word our hope will be one of assurance.
